Plastic footwear having contrasting color effects



May 2, 1961 G. H. BINGHAM, .JR 2982 033 PLASTIC FOOTWEAR HAVINGcoNTRAsTING coLoR EFFECTS Filed March 4, 1958 l United States 2-2. ofte.1;

2,982,033 PLASTIC FOOTWEAR HAVING CONTRASTING I coLoR 'EFFECTS t iGeorge H. Bingham, Jr., Westminster, Md., assigner to f Taneytown, Md.,a cor-r Cambridge Rubber Company, poration of Maryland `This inventionpertains to footwear; in particular, to footwear wherein the upperofthe? booter-shoe isof plastic or largely of plastic, the plastic VWhichforms the` outer surface at least of the boot being ofjay.lighttransmittingnature, that is to.say,either'translucent.or transparent, andrelatesespecially to a novel method of impartingta pleasingandornamentaletiectto such footwear,

and to. footwear resultant from the, practice of ,said` -presentmethod iof .waterproof-boots,` it as ,become A In the manufacture I v quitecommon toemploy asyntheticplastic astheA material of the lupper or topportion Vof,thebootor;,gat leastgfor major portions of theHupper. Inunlined boots, a single thickness of pla'sticmayrconstitutetheentireskin or outer element of theupper.. In other bootsa'liningeithei-of plastic or of textile material such asostockinet, is3arrangedi withiny the plastic outens'kin. Y However,. if Ithe outerskin betransparent .for translucent, .it has not heretofore been arent commonto employ such a textilelining since-itrnshows through thelight-transmitting outer skinv and may detract from the pleasingappearance soughtobytheuse yofthe transparent materialsl Little, if.any,`att`empt has been illustrated in Figs.,l and 4;

2,982,033 Patented May 2, 1961 ICC Fig. 3 is Va section similar to Fig.2, but to much larger scale and showing only a portion of the wall oftheboot; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic,'side elevation of a sock or liningvmember comprised in the boot of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 vis a fragmentary-section on thev line 5-5 of Fig. `4 to largerscale;

Fig. 5a is a plan view of an ornamental patch such as Fig. 6 isva'diagrammatc, side elevation similar to Fig.

1, but showinga boot of modified construction;

" Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic, side elevation of a sock or lining membersuch as is used in the boot of Fig. 6; l

Fig.- 7a is a fragmentary elevationy showing a portion of the materialof the sock of Fig. 7, but to larger scale, `to show the weave pattern;,l y c Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, vertical section onthe line 8 8 of Fig,6 to larger scale;

' Fig. 8a is a fragmentary section on Fig. 8; c v o Y i Fig. 9 is avertical, front-to-.rear section through a mold, such as may be used inmolding a plas-tic boot, illustrative of another method of preparing aboot having the characteristics of that herein claimed;

Fig. 9a is a fragmentary, vertical section to larger scale on the lline9a-9n of Fig. 9;

Fig. l0, is a diagrammatidsde elevationmgenerally similar to Fig. l,.but showing a` boot of a `further,modi

lied construction; v g Fig. V10a is afragmentary,`verticahsectin,tolarger scaleon the line 10a-10a of Fig. 10; I

Fig. 1l yis a transverse section on the line 1,1f11 of Fig. 12 is adiagrammatic sideelevation showing aboot havingacul. c f v'Referring'ftoFigl, the boot Y20, ,which is a waterproof ybinotand whichmay be Yof anyfdesired conventionallstyle or' patternl and which has theupperjorjtopzland the Abottom or Ioutersole 22, comprisesan'outerintegument 23) (FigslI lay- 2 and 3)cwhosemajorzportion, at least, is'vof made heretoforeft ornament such bootsr other than` the-molding vofthe outer surfacefofthe plastic to forint geometrical or other shapessuch as ribs, dots, Ydimplesor the like, l d?, o VThe present inventionhas. for an object the provlSiQn of a novel boot whereby it becomespractical'to embelish the `transparent or translucent upper with designsin color or black andwhite which, whileV inpartinggaY distinctive andartistic appearance to the vupper,,'d,o i'1ot 1aflect thev nish ofhtthematerial of theoutermsurfacefnor 'doesl'it producef'any roughness at'the inner `surface lof the boot afwaterproof, synthetic plastico oflightltran'smittin'g"charater,4 that is tojsay, it may beltransparentbrtransl cent.

This outer' integument lmaybe formedlin accordance" with any` customarypracticev inthe 'manufacture of,..plastic boots, for example-by moldingvin. a hollow/molifcjnd Ymay herein for` convenience beY ltermed j ,anembryo boot. y The upper of the boot, as illustrated in Figs. 1 Qt',o5,lj`alsb .comprises vthe linner skin or lining V24 whichljrray" be `lr'nerelyI an internal coating or lm of the same'plastic Yforming theyouter-.skin 23 and of the sameor a different such asv mightfcauselsnagging vofsheer hosierypr discomfortto thewearer. A further Objectisto provide a boot of the above type which, when worn, exhibitsconstantly changing variations `in color or pattern effects. A furtherobject `is to provide a boot'of the type; :referred to above, havingornalmental areas in its upper which are so protectedl that they areYnot abraded or otherwise disgured by wear. ,LA

ffurther object i`s to provide a boot made accorfding tothe abovemethodand having the characteristics'which result from said method.' OtherV and further objects andjadyantages of theinvention will `bepointed out in the following more detailed description and by referenceto the accompanying drawings wherein: o

Fig. Lis a diagrammatic side elevation illustrating` a boo'tfsuch .asmay result from the practice of the present invention; i

Fig. la isa fragmentary, vertical section to larger scale on the linela-la of. Fig, l;

Figa. 2 is a diagrammatic, horizontal sectiononthewline co l` or, but`in `accordance with one desirable mode of procedura this inner skin 24is formedas an independent "ihso'ck'l24a, as shown in Fig. 4, of a shapeand sizl'ejto'fit Ywithin the outer integument 2,3; this sock may be of'any suitable material desirable for' the purpose, for example Tofasynthetic plastic or, if desired, of textile fabric,` kvAs an incidentto its preparation, the vouter surface ofjthe 'sock 24a may be providedwith elements ofornanientation,`here indicated by the numeral ,25. ,Suchelements of ornament may be formed during the making ofthe en sock`2,4,for example by afsuitable molding operation 'if the sock be ofmoldable material; but, in"accordance with one desirable procedure,these elements 25;,as' illu'strated in Fig.` 5a, may be cut fromsheetimaterial ofthe .desired characterV for example, a plastic, andbonded'jfto.

theouter surface of the preformed sock4 24j by theenipl'oyment ofadhesive A, asindicated in Fig. 5'.1"Desir (ably, these elements ofornamentwill be offa color 'different from that of the outer integument23 and they may or may not be light-transmitting material, aslpreferred. The sock 24a, itself, may be of light-transmitting materialor opaque material, if desired, but preferably contrasting in colorvwiththerelementsofornamentZ. AAlthough the line YSrl-.8a ofl these elementsof ornament'may, as above suggested, be pieces of sheet material of-proper shape and appliqued to the outer surface of the sock, they maybe formed, for example merely by applying suitable coloring material tothe outer surface of the sock, as by the use'of a stencil, orby theapplication of any other distinctive substancefor instance, metal foilor `the like, or powdered pigment, and united to the surface of the sockby suitable adhesive means. In whatever manner the sock is thusornamented,

" it is now assembled with the outer integument by inserting it withinthe latter and then permanentlyY uniting it to the integument 23 by theemployment of a suitable bonding material, as indicated at 26 in Fig.la. This bonding material may be applied to any desired part of thesock, for example at an area bordering the top of the sock,

5 leaving other portions of the sock loose relatively to the louterintegument 23 so as to be capable of movement relatively to thelatterrduring wear of the shoe. If the sock be bonded to the outerintegument only at its upper part or at other selected but minorportions of its area, it will move relatively to the outerl integumentin response to the motion of the wearers foot and such movements wouldresult in the 'slight separation of the vsock from the outerintegumentfas indicated at P (Fig. 8)

land produce varying effects, in particular, changes in the Aapparentbrightness of the elements of ornament so as 'to produce a constantlychanging pattern efi'ect as viewed ,A from the exterior of the boot.`However, it is contem-5 plated that the entire outer surfaceY of thesock may be adhesively or cohesively bonded to the inner surface oftheouter integument 23 in which event the color intensity of theornamental parts 25 will not substantially change during the wear of theboot, although these ornamental areas will be visible through Vthelight-transmitting outer integument thus imparting a pleasing appearanceto the boot.

Instead of employing appliqued or other ornamental areas to a sock, asabove described, the sock may, for

example, be of a textile fabric which has an ornamental ae'saoss abackground of one color and with a woven-in pattern of another color.The woven-in pattern thus constitutes an element of ornament in the samegeneral sense as the parts 25, referred to above. This sock isintroduced into the outer integument 27, being of a size and shape suchas to fit within the latter, and is then bonded to the outer integument,for example, by means of adhesive, as shown at A (Fig. 8), so that thesock is permanently united to the outer integument. If as abovesuggested, the sock be .bonded to the outer integument only alongitsupper edge,

the sock is free to move relatively to the outer integument,

except at this particular location, in response to moveintegument be oftranslucent material rather than `materrial which is completelytransparent, such movement has the effect of dimming the pattern on theexposed outer fsurface of the sock so that his pattern varies inintensity, as viewed from the exterior of the boot, with a constantr4variation in intensity at changing areas, thus again producing adesirable ornamental affect. However, it is contemplated that the entirearea of the sock may be bonded to. the interior surface of the outerintegument 28, if desired, thus producing a boot of pleasing butunchanging appearance.

Instead of providing the inner skin as a separate independent sock, aboot of somewhat similar character may be produced, as illustrated inFigs. 9 and 9a, wherein the numeral 31 designates a hollow mold, usuallyof metal, whose interior surface is configured to correspond to thedesired shape and external surface of the boot which is to be made. Inaccordance with one desirable procedure, this mold is first filled witha Ysuitable plastic, in liquid form, and the mold is then subjected to acertain degree of heat which causes a layer 32 of plastic to coagulateand form alcoating on the interior of the mold. The uncoagulated plasticis then poured out of the mold and, after the coating has dried for acertain time, which may be varied as circumstances may make desirable,there is applied to the inner surface of this coating any desiredelement of ornamentLsuch for example, but without limitation, as theelements 25," above described. Since the coating or layer 32 is still inthe unfused state, these elements ot ornament may be applied very easilymerely by pressing them against the somewhat tacky surface of thecoating 32, although,these elements of ornament may first be coated witha suitable adhesive before applying them to the inner surface of thecoating 32, if desired.

Having applied these elements of ornament, the mold may again be filledwith liquid plastic, which may be of the same kind or color as thatfirst employed or of a different kind or color, and the mold againwarmed suiciently to cause` alayer 33 of this second plastic tocoagulate and form a coating which 'embeds the parts 25 between it andthe outer coating 32.Y The mold may now be subjected to a final heattreatment such as completely [to fuse the layers 32 and 33 of plastic,whereuponthe boot thus produced is withdrawn from the mold. Assumingthat the material forming the layer 32 is such as Ato make thislayertranslucent or transparent, the ornamental areas 25 will showthrough this outer integument, .thus .imparting a desirable ornamentalappearance to the completed boot. In this event, the inner layer 33 ofplastic forms a fulllininggfor the boot. and protects ,the elements ofornament 25 from wear at their inner surfaces as Well as protecting thewearers foot from contact with these elements. If desired, this innercoating 433 may be of nylon which produces a boot having a very skin 38which may be of any desired material, although preferably of syntheticplastic, and it maybe of any desired color, whether light-transmittingor opaque. This .inner skin 38 is made in the form of an independentsock vaccording vto the procedures first described and is thenintroduced into the outer integument which is made by ,molding or otheroperation, and is bonded to the outer integument as indicated at A (Fig.10a), along its upper margin or at other limited areas so that majorportions, preferably, of this inner skin are movable relatively with theouter integument. Assuming that this inner skin be of a color or texturedifferent from that of the light-transmitting outer integument, themotion of the wearers foot would cause the inner skin to separate atvarying areas from the outer integument as indicated by the space P1(Figs. 10 and 1l) so that the general color or shade of .the boot, asviewed from the exterior, will constantly change during the wear of theboot and thus an ornamental appearance is produced even though special,that is, definitely shaped pattern areas, such as the elements 25, arenot employed. It is obvious that a boot, such as lthat illustrated forexample in Fig. 10, may have any deeral procedure above outlined, mayrbe inished in any suitable manner, or by the introduction of aninternal back stay, a slide fastener, heel or toe stitener, archsupports or the like, or external elements, for example a cufr` C (Fig.12) of Vany suitable material and/or color and which may be secured tothe upper portion of the leg of boot B at any desired stage in itsmanufacture and by adhesive, sewing or other type of fastener.

While desirable embodiments of the invention have herein been suggestedby Way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadlyinclusive of any and all modifications falling Within the terms of theappended claim.

I claim:

An article of manufacture, a Waterproof boot comprising substantiallycoextensive inner and outer layers, said t outer layer comprising anintegument of waterproof,

fused plastic having a continuous sole, foot and leg portions adapted toserve as a barrier to Water, at least the leg portion of said integumentbeing light transmitting, said layers being permanently united at thetop only thereof, and being otherwise free for relative movement, saidinner layer comprising a exible liner carrying elements of ornamentpermanently joined therewith and visible at its exterior surface andfrom theV exterior of the boot, said liner being flexible and adapted tomove relatively to the outer integument whereby the motion of thewearers foot, during walking, causes free portions of the exible linerto move relatively to the outer lintegument with resultant variations inthe appearance of the elements of ornament when viewed from the exteriorof the boot.

References Cited in the tile ofv this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS294,020 Eisendrath Feb. 26, 1884 1,756,474 Raymond Apr. 29, 19302,271,595 Langendorf Feb. 3, 1942 2,329,209 Manson et al. Sept. 14, 19432,423,143 Gottschalk July 1, 1947 2,440,563 Woyach Apr. 27, 19482,652,637 Hardman Sept. 22, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,117,565 France..--4...---.... Feb. 27, 1956

